Suspended loan payments reached €1.31 bln in June

Suspended loan repayments to banks at the request of borrowers due to the COVID-19 crisis rose 4% to EUR 1.31 bln in early June from EUR 1.26 bln on May 22.

According to Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) data, from the total of 49,043 borrowers that applied for a loan suspension, 43,046 were for households and 5,997 for businesses.

Loans that were delayed for up to 30 days in both licensed credit institutions and credit acquisition companies, suspended instalments amounted to EUR 915.97 mln for corporate loans and EUR 397.88 mln for household loans.

The contractual value of the loans for which a suspension was requested, rose to EUR 11.44 bln on June 5, from EUR 10.77 bln on May 22, of which EUR 6.87 bln relates to corporate loans and the remaining EUR 4.56 bln concerns households.

The largest amount of corporate loans for which a repayment suspension was requested until June 5, 2020, was the hospitality and catering sector with a gross value of EUR 1.71 bln and 710 borrowers.

This sector was among the hardest hit due to the lockdown imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Other sectors with cash flow problems include real estate with EUR 1.28 bln in suspended loans (672 borrowers), construction with EUR 1.12 bln (608 borrowers) and wholesale and retail trade with EUR 1.10 bln (1,732 borrowers).

The value of the loans in the manufacturing sector for which an instalment freeze was requested is EUR 440.13 mln (559 borrowers).